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Powerful Hurricane Jose Lashes Antigua As Islanders Take Cover

THE CARIBBEAN — Hurricane Jose blew off roofs, downed power lines and knocked over trees Wednesday on Antigua as its 100 m.p.h. winds pummeled the tiny islands of the northeastern Caribbean.

The eye of the storm and its fiercest winds passed directly over Antigua, a tourism-dependent island severely damaged by Hurricane Luis four years ago. Residents were cautioned to stay inside and prepare for another assault from the back side of the storm as the calm eye moved across.

Jose was on a track expected to take it close to the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Thursday. Hurricane alerts were posted for a large portion of the eastern and northeastern Caribbean.

The 10th storm of the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season, Jose gained strength--its sustained winds rising from 90 to 100 m.p.h.--as it churned into an area of scattered islands with populations ranging from Montserrat's 4,500 to Puerto Rico's nearly 4 million.

Antiguan officials said one person was missing and 17 were injured as winds of 101 m.p.h. raked the 108-square-mile island. Antigua and Barbuda, a constitutional monarchy within the British Commonwealth, is home to 65,000 people. Electricity on Antigua was cut off as a precaution before the storm hit.

Antigua sustained major losses in September 1995 when Hurricane Luis hit, damaging 75 percent of its homes and battering its tourism industry.